14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone carrier T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced today its financial results for the third quarter of 2009, and posted OIBDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization) of $1.56 billion, down sequentially but up on a yearly basis, as well as total revenues of $5.38 billion for the time frame, up from the second quarter of this year ($5.34 billion), but down year on year ($5.51 billion in Q3 2008). T-Mobile announced net income of $417 million for the three-month period, down both sequentially ($425 million) and on a yearly basis ($442 million),
According to the wireless carrier, the third quarter of the ongoing year also marked a loss of 77,000 subscribers. T-Mobile ended the quarter with 33.4 million customers, down from 33.5 million in Q2 2009, but up from 32.1 million in the third quarter of the last year. The company's OIBDA went down from the $1.60 billion in the previous quarter, but increased when compared to the $1.53 billion it registered in the same time frame a year ago. However, the carrier managed to increase its coverage in the country by almost 50 percent in the quarter.
“In the quarter we took deliberate steps to align our operational cost structure to market realities while reasserting our position as the value leader in wireless,” said Robert Dotson, president and CEO, T-Mobile USA. “We've made tremendous progress with our nationwide rollout of 3G. Over six months we will have almost doubled our high-speed coverage with a goal of reaching 200 million consumers by the end of December. That coverage is now accompanied by a rich data experience with the broadest array of 3G Android devices of any wireless carrier. Lastly, we've introduced our new Even More plans that can cut wireless consumers' bills in half relative to AT&T and Verizon. These plans make available affordable unlimited nationwide calling, texting and data services to customers coast to coast.”
Other highlights from the company's announcement include a churn rate of 2.4 percent, up from 2.2 percent in Q2 2009 and at the same level with Q3 2008; OIBDA margin of 33 percent, marking an improvement on a yearly basis and going down on quarter; and ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) of $47 in the third quarter of 2009, down both on quarter and year on year. The carrier also announced cash capital expenditure of $787 million for the time frame, down from $1.08 billion in Q2 this year and from the $956 million in Q3 2008.
During the quarter, T-Mobile announced the new "Even More" and "Even More Plus" rate plans, as well as the launch of new mobile phones, including Motorola CLIQ, BlackBerry Bold 9700, and Samsung Behold II. T-Mobile USA’s 3G network has been extended to offer connectivity to a number of 167 million people, and will see further expansion, the carrier stated. At the same time, T-Mobile also launched a trial of HSPA+ technology in September, aimed at offering download speeds of 21 Mbps in Philadelphia.
“The building blocks are coming into place for our U.S. business to take full advantage of the sizeable opportunities available to us in wireless data,” said Rene Obermann, CEO, Deutsche Telekom. “I am pleased with the continued progress on building out our 3G network. The team has expanded distribution, bringing T-Mobile products and services to more people in more places. The team is also exercising sound cost management with a focus on solid margins in a challenging environment.”